Two bald eagles locked talons in a likely mating ritual and needed the help of sheriff’s deputies in western Wisconsin to be separated.

The lesson in nature doing what nature does occurred Saturday along the Red Cedar bike trail just outside of Downsville, according to the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Dennis Rhead and Sgt. Scott McRoberts responded to the report that the eagles were on the ground near a barbed-wire fence post, the Sheriff’s Office said.

One of them got the talons disconnected, and one eagle flew away. The other eagle, however, was injured and taken to the University of Minnesota Raptor Center for treatment, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

A similar encounter occurred nearly five years ago to the day in Duluth, where two bald eagles got locked together by their talons in midair and crash-landed onto a runway at the city’s international airport.

Eagles mate 10 months out of the year, according to the nonprofit Raptor Resource Project in Decorah, Iowa.

Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

The state's technology system has been plagued by high-profile failures, and finding someone willing to head the department has proven challenging. "It keeps me up at night," Walz said in an interview.